Additives in "Craft Beer"

Reads 3184 • Replies 25 • Started Saturday, October 29, 2016 12:04:47 PM CT

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Message Graham77 beers 619 º places 34 º 12:04 Sat 10/29/2016 Hello rate beer community: I was drinking a can of Beavertown Lupuloid recently and it got me thinking about an old subject which niggles with me when drinking Craft Beer. The commercial description mentioned "hop oils" as an ingredient. On the can "hops" were not listed as ingredient anywhere though Lupuloid is an IPA and tasted very hoppy. I often see on continental European lagers "hop extract" as an ingredient, but never on craft beers. I have also long wondered about the use of other "syrups" in brewing as some beers to me taste unnaturally sweet for the abv. Often beers are listed as fruit beers or spice beers with additives as we would expect. However to what extent are other beers, which state no additives, using additives to enhance flavour. An example would be if the hops on an IPA seem to piny has pine oil been added, or grapefruit oil to one that tastes of grapefruit, or syrup to one that tastes too sweet. So the questions are what additives are used in craft beer? and to what extent are the used?
Message EdKing beers 3661 º places 307 º 17:52 Sat 10/29/2016 Why does it only niggle you when drinking craft beer? Any beer can add adjuncts in the the UK without labeling. Fish bladders, corn syrup, enzymes etc. If anything it’s the macros you need to worry about.
Message SarkyNorthener beers 5200 º places 142 º 18:02 Sat 10/29/2016 Originally posted by EdKing Why does it only niggle you when drinking craft beer? Any beer can add adjuncts in the the UK without labeling. Fish bladders, corn syrup, enzymes etc. If anything it’s the macros you need to worry about. The difference is you are paying premium prices for premium beers. If they advertise themselves as craft then invariably they boost the price. You would therefore expect to pay for a beer brewed with "real" ingredients. If I was drinking cheap macro supermarket beer then I wouldn’t pay, nor expect the same quality ingredients.
Message Beersiveknown P beers 5380 º places 180 º 03:33 Sun 10/30/2016 Hop oils are regularly used as a concentrated form of dosing bitterness and/ or aromatics when it’s less feasible to add the hops whole (efficiency if extraction, size limitations of brewbot etc) if they were using other flavours then they’d have to declare these on packaging in the UK.

Message Graham77 beers 619 º places 34 º 04:10 Sun 10/30/2016 Originally posted by EdKing Why does it only niggle you when drinking craft beer? Any beer can add adjuncts in the the UK without labeling. Fish bladders, corn syrup, enzymes etc. If anything it’s the macros you need to worry about. It is as SarkyNortherner says that we are paying a premium price for Craft Beer and I expect a premium product. Finings I don’t have a problem with but I would like to know what flavourings have been added to beers, be they macro or craft. Also when I am drinking craft beer and thinking about the flavour It would be good to know whether it came from the hops and malts or from some other source. Example some stouts and porters use chocolate or coffee as an ingredient and list it in the ingredients. Others don’t mention this on the label but it may indeed be using them as ingredients.
Message Graham77 beers 619 º places 34 º 04:12 Sun 10/30/2016 Originally posted by Beersiveknown Hop oils are regularly used as a concentrated form of dosing bitterness and/ or aromatics when it’s less feasible to add the hops whole (efficiency if extraction, size limitations of brewbot etc) if they were using other flavours then they’d have to declare these on packaging in the UK. Recently I drank a beer that clearly had fruit of some kind added and it wasn’t listed in the ingredients. Another had a strong ginger flavour but again nothing in the ingredients.
Message The_Osprey beers 10591 º places 178 º 07:40 Sun 10/30/2016 Originally posted by Graham77 Originally posted by Beersiveknown Hop oils are regularly used as a concentrated form of dosing bitterness and/ or aromatics when it’s less feasible to add the hops whole (efficiency if extraction, size limitations of brewbot etc) if they were using other flavours then they’d have to declare these on packaging in the UK. Recently I drank a beer that clearly had fruit of some kind added and it wasn’t listed in the ingredients. Another had a strong ginger flavour but again nothing in the ingredients. I have wondered about the fruits. I think the demand for fruity pale beers may have tempted some brewers to throw some fruits in beer. Generally I’m in the ’if it tastes good then I don’t care’ camp, but I don’t want to feel deceived. I’m all for full disclosure when it comes to ingredients.
Message Marduk P beers 21930 º places 967 º 02:41 Mon 10/31/2016 Originally posted by Graham77 So the questions are what additives are used in craft beer? and to what extent are the used? The other day Westbrook Lime Gose I had, on the label there was written "....natural flavors added...".

Message Graham77 beers 619 º places 34 º 04:07 Mon 10/31/2016 Originally posted by Marduk Originally posted by Graham77 So the questions are what additives are used in craft beer? and to what extent are the used? The other day Westbrook Lime Gose I had, on the label there was written "....natural flavors added...". Credit to the brewery.
Message alovelydrop beers 70 º places 97 º 04:46 Mon 10/31/2016 Interesting post particularly with the reference to Lupuloid, which I thought was really sweet (and largely undeserving of the hype, but that is for a different thread). It wouldn’t really have occurred to me that they were using anything but hops.
Message Leighton P beers 33700 º places 1204 º 05:14 Mon 10/31/2016 I have not heard of any breweries chucking fruits into hoppy beers and not declaring it. Could it be happening? Yes, but if a brewery was doing this on the sly I think it would become known. You get get a ton of fruity expression from hops and yeast alone.